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Bard Ray, from somebody's minion to knight, through treachery he becomes an Earl, by using his Hermes guild's influence he obtains a ruler's Kingdom and with ruthless conquest he reaches the most powerful status: Emperor of the Haven Empire[2].

The horse Rindullin, one he can summon at will on the battlefield, with the help of a Magician[21].

He is limited in the number of weapon types he can use. Only a special subclass, like martial artist has no limitation whatsoever. But he owns many different swords, to optimize and adapt his skills output.
Example: More to come.

His real name is unknown, but he is an american, of french origin, living in New-York (v40c8), who likes to jog very early in the morning (5:00 AM).

Bard Ray, as a gamer, got the black knight class. For that, he had to achieve the knight status through underhanded and dark means. "A knight thinks very highly of loyalty and honour", whereas those stats do NOT matter to a Black Knight who endlessly pursues strength and power" [22].

Currently Bard Ray is on quest to master his class [23], which already reached its 16th quest [24].

Bard Ray is known as Hermes Guild's strongest and highest level swordsman. He is one of the highest ranker in Royal Road, if not the highest... and has the reputation to be the "Strongest of the Continent".

Hundreds of thousands of comments are posted on each of his video"[3].

He is the first user to acquire the Emperor status. His only rival left, in that regard, is Weed, who became the Legendary Emperor of the Pallos Empire albeit after travelling through time .

The Hermes Guild had grown thanks to Lafaye[4], the one managing the affairs of the Empire. But Bard Ray was always the leading force on the front stage.

His status within Hermes goes through various stages of power. It reflects the rise in power of Hermes and his growing dominance over the other political factions, be it within the Kingdom of Haven or within Royal Road's guild system.

Bard Ray is not yet Hermes's guildmaster. He is only the strongest wolf of the pack and he keeps a relatively "low" profile. Some describe him as a potential leader, others as a leader behind the curtain.

He was an elite (in top 5) of the old game, the formerly popular MMORPG "Continent of Magic" [6] but in the end, Weed's presence overshadowed Bard Ray's accomplishments.

He started his Royal Road gamer career as Earl Malkan’s minion in the Haven Kingdom [7]. There, he became a knight, and won over Malkan family’s sword techniques and legacy. Having outlived his usefulness Malkan was poisoned, leaving his status and power up for the taking. After that, Bard Ray became a full fledged black knight through efficient treachery and betrayal [8].

He wants to submit the whole Continent and become RR's final Emperor. He is one of Weed's main nemesis, along with the evil Embinyu Cult.

For a long time, a leading figure of the strongest guild in the Haven Kingdom.

During the first war between Kallamore Kingdom and Haven Kingdom, Bard Ray and his black knight unit played a crucial role in the war between the two nations. He forced Kallamore armies to retreat to their fortress by cutting their supply route. But his rebellious attitude also got him punished by his guildmaster for taking initiative and disobeying a direct order [9].

He met a few Sword Masters, including Percia, solved his quest and learned the skill Sword of Mana[10]. But he was not able to collect all special sword skills. In that regard, Weed did better.

After Hermes Guild overthrew the royal family of Haven Kingdom, he ascended as the Kingdom's new King, at level 412 [11]. In that regard, he did better than Weed.

During the second war with Kallamore Kingdom, he won over Kallamore first knight Kolderim and killed him in a (not so fair) duel [12]. Then took over,by destroying and looting the country after eliminating their leadership.

He aimed to become a black knight master [13], at level 480 with the guild's full support, competing directly against Weed becoming the second player to go public with his master quest. In that regard, he lost to Weed.

Description of some element of his quest within volumes 27-28.

During his quest, he fought a Battle of the past between Kelton Kingdom and Mapon Kingdom, on the side of Kelton Kingdom, and was able to achieve an overwhelming victory [14].

He achieved his 16th quest by conquering the historic Fontainebleau Castle through unfair means [15].

At the moment, he is stuck at the end of his master quest and can't move forward, because his level at sword mastery is still lacking (advanced level 8 [16]). He is also lacking in term of collecting the 9 special master swordmen skills, so he cannot access the final secret quest, where Weed succeeded.

Bard Ray benefits from the special Emperor restricted chain-quest. Those quests give stat (permanent) and combat (temporary) bonuses. Those quests (v43c10 for description of quest content) suit the ways a dark knight Emperor raising in power. They are very beneficial personally while destabilizing the Empire, pushing Bard Ray towards a dangerous path...

Bard Ray is never seen alone on the battlefield. He can always rely on fellow black knights and the supports of magic users and clerics. Also, he knows very well when to attack his enemies (asuming as little risk to his persona as possible) .
More to come (a few examples).

Early on, he ordered that Weed, the Lord of Morata, be hunted down by the guild's assassin, soldiers and mercenaries numerous time[19].

all the benefits related to the reputation of catching Weed (media coverage, TV show, etc.)

This tactic failed repeatedly, but is still underway[21]. Also, those who helped Weed would be killed and their house or store owned in a city would be closed and destroyed [22].
After the fall of Formos castle[23], it was raised again.

Bounty was increased to 100 million gold,

Position of a city lord

Highest grade equipment.

Also, senior magicians and assassins were again dispatched to track him. Code name was Big Bear Hunting, but Lafaye strongly doubted it.

Bard Ray and his Elite Members were once the strongest guild in the formerly popular MMORPG "Continent of Magic" [24] with him as one of the top 5 players. However, during the time that the popularity of the game was dwindling down, he and his guildmates decided to move on. But still, Bard Ray remains attached with his title of being the strongest in Continent of Magic.

During his absence, the legendary "God of War"[25]Weed emerged. A player that managed to clear dungeons and accomplish quests that he and his guild could not achieve during their reign in the game.

When he logged back, on his own, he was repeatedly and utterly defeated by this new gamer. These defeats led to hatred towards Weed. This experience created a huge impact on their relationship in Royal Road, without Weed even knowing.

By "luck", he met Weed in the Melbourne Mine, while hunting the demon Domus in a not so fair duel. The duel involved having Bardray healed by the priest and magic caster pinning down Weed, strategy that ultimately caused his death. After winning this first duel, with the (advantageous) support of his troops, he sold Weed's Talrock's armor on the internet[26].

At the same time, he is secretly admiring Weed and studying his sword skills and his single point attack.